Thursday, January 8, 2009

Cupcakes!


Tuesday night we had a craft night for our Etsy Maine Team members and had such a blast! Drea made YUMMY cupcakes that spelled out "Sweetland"!!! Can you believe it? It was such a *sweet* surprise (pun intended).

In attendance was Peggy, Jenn, Kim, Drea, Joy, and I. We ate way too much food, as usual for craft night, and gabbed it up a good bit. There was also singing and Jumbones involved (for Sammy, of course). Wish we could host craft night every night!!!

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Sunday, January 4, 2009

Local Attractions- Friends' Folly Farm & YURT!

Today was the Open House for Friends' Folly Farm, better known as Yarn in a Yurt!  They are located just about 15 minutes away in Monmouth.  We've been dreaming of erecting a yurt in our yard and wanted to take a closer look and purchase some homemade yarn along the way!  

What's a yurt?  A yurt is a Mongolian hut which was developed as a portable house for nomadic tribes.  Modern yurts have become very popular since they are easy, inexpensive, and 
quick to assemble.  We were surprised by its warmth and the beauty of the natural light that evenly streamed in through the dome at the top of the structure-- what a beautiful studio this would make!  

One of the reasons that we are so drawn to yurts is that they are so eco-friendly.  Building the structure requires about 1/3 the 
material that would be needed for a conventional building of its size.  The dome can be cranked open for temperature modulation.  This yurt was made and installed in one day by White Mountain Yurts.

Visting the yarn shop was such a treat!  Not just to see the yurt up close and personal but to see and touch all of their 
beautiful yarn!  They dye their own yarn which is made from their herd of goats & sheep as well as selling other Maine grown & processed yarn.  To say that there is a rainbow of colors would be an understatement!  

Friends' Folly also sell their own patterns to go along with their yarn as well as basic equipment, supplies, and books for spinning, dyeing, knitting, & felting.  As if that weren't enough, they also offer workshops & classes!

We had such a blast visiting the shop & spinning mill and hope to make many trips back there.  The three of us kept remarking throughout the day how nice it was to go there and experience it all.  We highly recommend it and when you go-- tell them Sweetland Retreat sent you!
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Friends' Folly Farm is located at 319 Norris Hill Rd in Monmouth, ME
Their current hours are: Tuesday-Thursday Noon-6pm, Saturday 10am-4pm, and by appointment or chance 207-632-3115
You can find their website at
http://friendsfollyfarm.com

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